US PRESIDENT Donald Trump may have a new neighbor in town and it’s none other than the former president himself, Barack Obama.
Well, not exactly. Tens of thousands of people have backed an online petition to have the street outside Trump Tower in New York to be renamed after Obama.
86,000 signatures responded to online petition, launched on the Moveon.org website to have the stretch of Fifth Avenue outside Trump Tower be renamed to 725 Barack H. Obama Avenue.
Elizabeth Rowin started an online petition in a bid to troll the US President while also recognising the achievements of Mr Obama during his time in the White House.
Speaking to Newsweek, Ms Rowin, 56, said: “I started the petition as a joke after I saw a comedian joke about how it would make Trump so mad if it was named after former President Obama and I thought why not.”
Ms Rowin wrote on her online petition: “The City of Los Angeles recently honoured former President Barack Obama by renaming a stretch of the 134 Freeway near Downtown LA in his honour.”
She then went on to point out some of the achievements of Barack Obama: “We request the New York City Mayor and City Council do the same by renaming a block of Fifth Avenue after the former president whose many accomplishments include: saving our nation from the Great Recession; serving two completely scandalous free terms in office; and taking out Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind September 11th, which killed over 3000 New Yorkers.”
While the online petition has received a great number of supporters, it may be short lived as Newsweek reports that a person must have been dead for at least two years before a city can rename a street after a public figure.
However, Ms Rowin, clearly ecstatic with the overwhelming support received on her petition is reasonably confident that Mr Obama will take his place as Mr Trump’s neighbor: “I’m sure the conditions can be changed. There are two streets in LA named after the former President Obama. These laws are arbitrary and can be worked around.”